Avid Xpress DV - Pro Training

Rating:
Summary: Poor Pacing, No Talent, No Follow Along - Waste of Money
Review: Having experience with Non-Linear Editing for over 6 years, it would be my expectation that a "beginner" level DVD such as the one Geius DV would put its best foot forward in engaging the learner on what is a very accessible platform (Avid).

Nothing could be further than the truth.

PACING (POOR):
The pacing of this tutorial seems more focused on getting through the material than explaining anything with detail. Cursory introductions of major concepts do very little justice to the reasoining behind why things are done the way they are on the Avid system. While it makes sense to zip through fundamental concepts such as bins, dragging and dropping, etc. the DVD goes on to blow through some very complex concepts such as multiple track editing, rubberbanding audio, even more basic concpts such as bin navigation and organization.

TALENT-OR LACK THEREOF-(POOR)-
The owner of the company happens to also be the host (and oddly enough customer support when I happened to call it... BAD SIGN). An engaging and understandable host is critical to the success of any DVD based tutorial. John is neither of these things. He seems very uncomfortable in front of the camera and appears to be reading off a page - without live references to movements we see onscreen which is important to following alng a DVD. I trust that poor writing/pacing is mostly to blame, bad screen presence certainly does not help.

INTERACTIVITY (NON-EXISTANT)-
When a program includes project files, the idea would be that you could follow along with what is happening on screen. Forget about it. The program files (which took a call to customer support to get to work on my MAC - at which point I spoke to John himself, actually... very strange) names do not match that which is on the screen, plus, lessons are not appropriately set up to allow for you to follow along step by step. Bins will suddenly exist, and views are suddenly changed without any explanation. Impossible to follow along. The project files are a joke.

The makers need to visit the EXCEPTIONAL quality of such training products as those put out by Total Training (for Adobe products), or even the Avid ones with Steven Bayes.

This DVD has extremely low production value and so poorly put together, it wins the award as "The Worst $159 Dollars I Have Spent This Year."

Rating:
Summary: Even my 8 year old found it fun!
Review: The following is my endorsement:

I am a fine artist... in the process of putting together an Art Instruction Video Teaching Series. I purchased the Genius DV, Avid Xpress DV - Pro Training Basic Editing to learn how to use Avid.

I highly recommend the GeniusDV, Avid Xpress DV - Pro Training Basic Editing. John Lynn presents the material in a way that is easy to understand and uses material (video) that makes or keeps it interesting.

If I had had the information presented here when I first began... it would have saved me a lot of frustration and wondering if I was doing something wrong or if there was a problem with the software or with my computer.

John has a few pointers that addressed issues I had that I couldn't find answers to in the Avid Xpress DV 3.5 Editing book put out by Avid Technology, Inc.

An additional note: Remember, I am a fine artist I know nothing about cameras... I just want to use one to put together art instruction material. A problem I had been having with my camera was that I want to paint with natural daylight... I was not getting good results on overcast days. I was seriously considering purchasing a Canon GL2, a camera that was not on the list of DV Cameras, Decks and Transcoders tested by Avid.

I didn't know enough to make a good decision. I was going on what the sales person told me at a local camera shop. I e-mailed John to ask him about it. He did some research and got back to me with not only advice from two different sources, experts, who were familiar with the GL2 I was considering, but also with a recommendation. When I took it from there, my research validated the information John gave me.

The recommendations John made saved me from wasting a lot of money and ending up with a camera that was only marginally better than what I had. I ended up with a camera that was light-years better for what I needed! The GL2 requires a minimum of 100 lux, the Sony PD 150 that John recommended can operate on a minimum of 2 lux! I didn't even know the questions to ask...
My point being... these guys really know their stuff and truly care about the customer; they've gone above and beyond what I could have expected in the way of support! . I am thankful I found them!

Thanks John!

Rating:
Summary: This information helped me get off to a great start!
Review: The following is my endorsement:

I am a fine artist... in the process of putting together an Art Instruction Video Teaching Series. I purchased the Genius DV, Avid Xpress DV - Pro Training Basic Editing to learn how to use Avid.

I highly recommend the GeniusDV, Avid Xpress DV - Pro Training Basic Editing. John Lynn presents the material in a way that is easy to understand and uses material (video) that makes or keeps it interesting.

If I had had the information presented here when I first began... it would have saved me a lot of frustration and wondering if I was doing something wrong or if there was a problem with the software or with my computer.

John has a few pointers that addressed issues I had that I couldn't find answers to in the Avid Xpress DV 3.5 Editing book put out by Avid Technology, Inc.

An additional note: Remember, I am a fine artist I know nothing about cameras... I just want to use one to put together art instruction material. A problem I had been having with my camera was that I want to paint with natural daylight... I was not getting good results on overcast days. I was seriously considering purchasing a Canon GL2, a camera that was not on the list of DV Cameras, Decks and Transcoders tested by Avid.

I didn't know enough to make a good decision. I was going on what the sales person told me at a local camera shop. I e-mailed John to ask him about it. He did some research and got back to me with not only advice from two different sources, experts, who were familiar with the GL2 I was considering, but also with a recommendation. When I took it from there, my research validated the information John gave me.

The recommendations John made saved me from wasting a lot of money and ending up with a camera that was only marginally better than what I had. I ended up with a camera that was light-years better for what I needed! The GL2 requires a minimum of 100 lux, the Sony PD 150 that John recommended can operate on a minimum of 2 lux! I didn't even know the questions to ask...
My point being... these guys really know their stuff and truly care about the customer; they've gone above and beyond what I could have expected in the way of support! . I am thankful I found them!

Thanks John!

Rating:
Summary: Even my 8 year old found it fun!
Review: While I was viewing this DVD my 8 year old daughter walked in and saw the guns and hoses media that comes with the training program. She thought that it was funny and wanted to watch it again. Once I was able to get the DVD controler away from her and get into the training I realized that this is an oustanding training program. Not only is it setup in a manner that is easy to follow but it is informative as well.

I have been editing on AVID for 7 years now, but I have not upgraded my system for over 5 years. I did not realize how far behind I had gotten until I worked on an Express DV system. I was unaware of what a "super bin" as well as numerous other features that are now avaliable. This DVD not only explains these features but shows you step by step how to use them. After watching this DVD I can say that not only has my knowledge increased but my productivity as well.

Additionally the support that is avaliable from the Genius Dv staff is second to none. I have never purchased any product at any price that gave that kind of support.

Thanks for a great product and for even better support you guys have earned a customer for life.